A recent news report emanating from an opposition television station showed police trying to arrest a woman who was visibly fighting with the ranks. The arresting officers were female; they could not subdue the woman and required back-up from their male counterparts.According to the news report, the woman and the conductor of a mini bus had a court matter and the court had ruled in favour of the conductor. So the woman went to the park where she accosted the conductor and, during the ensuing altercation, she broke the windscreen of the mini bus.
When the matter was reported and the police invited her to the station, she resisted arrest in a very violent way, with a gathering crowd cheering and encouraging her on. The ensuing fracas speaks to the lawlessness of our society – or certain sections of it.
The world is taking cognizance and becoming increasingly aware of the violence that is experienced by women and children, with the perpetrators most often being male, with minor exceptions to the general norm.
But while this scourge in society needs to be addressed, heed should also be taken of the fact that some women are not without fault and are the aggressors in many instances.
In the incident alluded to, several police ranks had the greatest difficulty in subduing the enraged woman; which begs the question: When will the plight of male victims of violent women take centre stage?
Abused women are generally so beaten down by life and their particular circumstances that they are afraid to face the world. Morever, there are always survival considerations, especially where there are children involved; and while advice is plentiful, actual help is non-existent or scant, so they often withdraw their complaints against their abusive partners. One official gleefully informed media operatives that these women, already so challenged and overwhelmed by their lives, could be charged for withdrawal of their complaints, when counselling and actual, realistic help to empower them would make more sense.
Police are so badly distrusted in society because they do not, in most instances, know how to relate in trust-building exercises with the general citizenry, especially in domestic situations, whereby tactful and helpful interventions, maybe acting as peacemakers, would heal many matrimonial breaches.
Women are generally reluctant and/or afraid to report their abusive situations to police and many often end up dead as a result. The recent case where police ‘intervention’ in a domestic matter eventuated in the death in police custody of a generally good father and a husband, except for occasional aberrations, is one example of the reasons women are reluctant to get the police in on their domestic matters, because instead of help, the women end up with a lifetime of grief, deprivation and feelings of guilt.
Government has expressed concern over the escalation of violence against women; but this has always existed, except for the fact that more women are seeking help in today’s world. However, the problem of violence in the society is very deep-rooted and complex. Unless and until this is approached and addressed in a holistic way, violence in the society will remain prevalent, and may even escalate.